A 17-year-old has gained fans around the world after coming out to her family on Instagram.
Ellisa, who says some members of her family hold homophobic views, recently shared images of herself at Chicago Pride, saying: “I’m gay and I fucking love me and that shouldn’t be a secret”.
“It’s terrifying thinking you’re alone in this world. It’s even more terrifying thinking the people closest to you, whether that be family or friends, will think of you differently for something you really can’t change about yourself,” she captioned the images.
“It’s terrifying having to hide a huge part of your life. Life is terrifying. But what I do know is you shouldn’t be terrified of love. Nobody should ever make you feel terrified of something so beautiful.”
Ellisa said that at Pride, she felt love like she’s “never felt before”.
“I saw strangers smile at each other, cheek to cheek, eye wrinkle to eye wrinkle. I saw people happy. It even made me question if I’ve ever seen true happiness before until now. I wish I could hold onto that feeling forever,” she said.
“I wish I could’ve felt that feeling sooner. I could wish so many things, but of those wishes, I hope you all feel love.”
She ended her post with a message to any other LGBT+ teens.
“I want you to know there’s people out there that love you, no matter what. We all love you,” she said.
“I hope you never feel the need to hide who you are. You’re not wrong for feeling the way you do. Please, forever, never let anyone make you feel like what you feel is wrong. Please, forever, love you. And never stop.”
Ellisa’s post on Instagram was liked more than 1,000 times, but the teen didn’t stop there.
She later tweeted “guess who just came out to their homophobic family via Instagram”, which was liked more than 72,000 times.
In a later tweet Ellisa confirmed she is safe and well after coming out.
She’s since received an outpouring of support from thousands of people online.
Ellisa, keep being fabulous 🙌
Pride 2017: 13 Baby Names Inspired By The LGBT Community
1. Harvey(01 of13)
Open Image ModalHarvey Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
2. Gilbert(02 of13)
Open Image ModalGilbert Baker, an openly gay artist and civil rights activist, designed the Rainbow Flag in 1978. The flag has since become a prominent symbol to the gay community around the world.
3. Sylvia(03 of13)
Open Image ModalSylvia Rivera was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and self-identified drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance.
4. Ellen(04 of13)
Open Image ModalEllen Page is a Canadian actress who came out in 2014, and has since spoken openly about the double standards around LGBT actors in Hollywood, she said: "Now I’m gay, I can’t play a straight person?!”
5. Martina(05 of13)
Open Image ModalMartina Navratilova is a Czech and American retired tennis player and coach. In 2005, Tennis magazine selected her as the greatest female tennis player for the years 1965 through 2005. In 2000, she was the recipient of National Equality Award from the USA's largest gay and lesbian activist/lobbying group for her campaigning.
6. Audre(06 of13)
Open Image ModalAudre Lorde was a African-American writer, feminist, poet and civil-rights activist. She took part in the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979 and used her theory of difference to establish the fight for gay rights. She quickly became the best known out-of-the-closet Black radical lesbian feminist.
7. Ian(07 of13)
Open Image ModalSir Ian McKellen is an actor and the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He is one of the founding members of Stonewall UK, along with John Miskelly and Michael Cashman.
8. Keegan(08 of13)
Open Image ModalKeegan Hirst is Britain's first openly gay rugby player who came out in August 2015.
9. Laverne(09 of13)
Open Image ModalLaverne Cox is an American actress on the hit Netflix series 'Orange is the New Black'. Cox has made history as being the first openly transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy award in an acting role and to be on the cover of Time magazine.
10. Edie(10 of13)
Open Image ModalEdie Windsor is an American LGBT rights activist and former technology manager at IBM. She was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court of the United States, which successfully overturned Section 3 of the Defence of Marriage Act, considered a landmark legal victory for same-sex marriage.
11. Bayard(11 of13)
Open Image ModalBayard Rustin is best known for his work with Martin Luther King in the civil right's movement, but in the 1970s, he became a public advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes as well.
12. Ruby(12 of13)
Open Image ModalRuby Rose is an Australian model, DJ, recording artist, actress and television presenter. She has spoken openly, and extensively, about her sexuality and identifying as gender fluid.
13. Larry(13 of13)
Open Image ModalLarry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist.